Optimal orientation with variable slicing in stereolithography

Accuracy and building time are two important concerns in rapid prototyping (RP). Usually there exists a trade‐off between these two aspects pertaining to model building in RP. The use of variable thickness slicing can satisfy these two requirements to some extent. Introduces an adaptive variable thickness slicer implemented on a solid CAD modeller. The slicer employs a genetic algorithm to find the minimum layer thickness allowed at referenced height with a given cusp height tolerance. By introducing the variable thickness slicing technique, the optimal orientation for part building in RP systems is considered. Seeks to obtain the optimal orientation with adaptive slicing for part building in stereolithography (SLA) systems. Takes into consideration building time, accuracy and stability of the part when determining the optimal orientation. Results show that the proposed approach gives an effective and practical solution for building parts with curved surfaces.